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Did Richard III do it?
For centuries, the much maligned, last Plantagenet ruler of England has been accused of ordering the murder of his two young nephews. Among the first of the noted historians blaming him for the deed was Sir Thomas More, who wrote about the murder during the reign of Henry VIII, the son of Richard's successor, Henry VII. Henry VII was the first Tudor monarch and, not incidentally, usurped Richard's throne.
Richard had become king in July 1483 on a marital whim: his brother, Edward IV, had died unexpectedly that April and just as Edward's 12-year-old son (also Edward) was to be crowned, it was revealed that he and his siblings were illegitimate and therefore ineligible. Their father had entered into a pre-contract for marriage with someone else before wedding their mother, so the second marriage was ruled invalid.
Richard, whom his brother had named Protector of the Realm in his will, was then the next in line. Parliament gave him the crown.
Young Edward and his little brother, also named Richard, ages 12 and 10, ended up in the Tower of London -- then the official residence of the king -- where they allegedly spent their days being schooled. After their illegitimacy had been declared and Richard was crowned, there is no record of anyone seeing -- or not seeing -- the boys again.
Richard reigned for only two years and was killed in battle, defending his throne against Henry Tudor, who conspired with relatives of Edward IV's second wife to claim the crown. The accusations of murder were lodged against Richard almost before he was buried; and 20 years later an English nobleman, Sir James Tyrrel, was charged by Henry with having smothered the princes on Richard's order. Tyrrel was beheaded, without trial or confession, despite the fact that Henry had earlier granted him two official pardons "for any crimes" he may have committed.
The bodies of the young princes were not found during the lifetimes of their contemporaries; but 200 years later, two small skeletons were located in a box under a set of steps within the Tower precincts. They were interred, as those of the young princes, in Westminster Abbey.